This is a piece of fiction I've been working on that is set in the Star Trek universe about 3 years prior to the events in The Wrath of Khan. Most of the action will take place in No Man's Land, also called the Golden Triangle, the area of space where the Federation comes together with the Romulan and Klingon Empires. The triangle describes the buffer zone of independent space between the three governments. The ship used will be the USS Beowulf, a newly launched Halsey Class Destroyer. The Beowulf is captained by veteran military officer James Stuart Newkirk who longs for a command in the exploration division, but is stuck with his own success in keeping the Federation safe.

http://ussbeowulf.kersare.net/sms/images/tour/fed_halsey_126.gif

whoman69

10-24-2011, 12:54 PM

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke

Captain James Newkirk’s knee hurt. He took it as a sign that the events of this day would not come out in his favor. He had been ordered to Starbase 15 to begin his new assignment. Trouble is he had no idea what that assignment would be. He had a good idea what was in store for him. He had spent more than 30 years in Starfleet, almost all in the military division. He was too good at what he did and lacked experience, they said, to get an exploration command.

Starbase 15 was home to the largest shipbuilding facility outside of the Sol system. It was easy to deduce that he would be given command of a brand new starship. The Andorian shipyard was state of the art. His hope was that he would finally have command of a vessel of exploration.

“Jimmy, over here buddy,” a voice called out. Newkirk didn’t need to see who it was. The voice was even more familiar than the bushy eyebrows and the crew cut. He turned to see Commodore Bentley waving him over. Bentley was Newkirk’s former commander, had taken him and promoted him through the ranks, eventually to be his XO. Bentley had recommended Newkirk for his first command. Bentley was also there to make sure that Newkirk stayed on the active duty roster even as he was recuperating from having his legs smashed in a sneak attack by the Romulans. Newkirk had Bentley to thank for the success of his career. Today that didn’t seem to matter.

As Newkirk approached the commodore pointed his thumb towards a nearby building, “Let’s go in here to talk.”

Two junior officers were seated at a desk talking. They rose to attention when they saw a flag officer enter the room. “Why don’t you give us a moment of privacy boys,” Bentley said.

When the two officers got up and left Newkirk said, “Taking over like always.”

“You don’t seem too happy to see me old friend,” Bentley noted.

“I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but should I be?” responded Newkirk. “Are you here to tell me I’m getting command of a real starship? I spent a long time getting back on my feet. I owe you a lot but I don’t have any more to give if it means another tour on military patrol when there are still worlds out there to explore.”

“I’d give my right arm to give you what you want,” the Commodore said. “Its just that you’re too good at what you do. Hell you’re twice the commander I ever was.”

“Didn’t help me on my last tour of the Neutral Zone,” Newkirk said with a touch of anger.

“Don’t kid yourself,” Bentley stated as he moved in closer to look Newkirk squarely in the eye. “I saw that tape. You kept your head even after your leg was crushed. You brought home a lot of brave crewmen who would have died out there. You’re going to go back out there because you know its your duty.

Newkirk didn’t have a response to that. The pain in his knee became a little more pronounced at this point. He took a seat in the empty chair by the desk. “So what do you have for me?”

“I’ve just been named commander of Starbase 24...” Bentley paused to let that sink in.

“No Man’s Land. I don’t know whether to congratulate you or plan your wake,” Newkirk responded with his famous grin.

“I suppose you want me stationed near some remote outpost staring the Klingons down while daring them to cross the line.”

“No, I’ve got that covered. You are going to have a fairly raw crew. I want you here on the Klingon Neutral Zone to get some seasoning.”

“You mean I have to prove myself?!” exclaimed Newkirk.

“I know you’ll get them whipped into shape. I can only pick top crews for this assignment. Admiral Kirk has given it his personal go ahead. I’m going to need about a dozen ships to go into independent space and keep an eye on things there.”

“Why don’t I just paint some targets on the hull?” Newkirk responded with a glint of his grin.

“That’s why I need someone like you out there. Someone that can keep a clear head.”

“You haven’t even told me what ship I have yet,” Newkirk said.

“USS Beowulf,” Bentley responded. “It’s a Halsey class.”

Newkirk tried to hide his disappointment on basically what would be another military cruise with a joke, “Whoever came up with the names for those ships had too many books to read.” Halsey Class, they didn't send destroyers out to do exploration.

"I know you're disappointed, but when you finish up this tour I will do what I can to get you that exploration command you've been craving for."

whoman69

10-24-2011, 12:56 PM

Captain James Stuart Newkirk

http://ussbeowulf.kersare.net/sms/images/charimages/sam.jpg

Commodore Reggie Bentley

http://ussbeowulf.kersare.net/sms/images/charimages/ermey.png

Fish

10-24-2011, 02:05 PM

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7240/tumblrllvlq0vtho1qe75x7.jpg

Bowser

10-24-2011, 05:44 PM

James Newkirk? :spock:

At least he has a Tom Selleck pornstache.

listopencil

10-24-2011, 05:52 PM

James Stewart Newkirk.

Really? That's the name you went with?

listopencil

10-24-2011, 05:56 PM

I mean...why not just name him James Katherine Picasisko?

pr_capone

10-24-2011, 05:59 PM

I mean...why not just name him James Katherine Picasisko?

LMAO

sounds like a pokemon

listopencil

10-25-2011, 01:21 PM

LMAO

sounds like a pokemon

Pica pica!

whoman69

10-25-2011, 01:54 PM

James Newkirk? :spock:

At least he has a Tom Selleck pornstache.

James Stewart Newkirk.

Really? That's the name you went with?

You do realize that's Sam Elliot. One of the few younger pictures I could find of him without a hat.

Really? The best critique you can come up with is you don't like the character's name? And its Stuart, BTW.

CHENZ A!

10-25-2011, 02:22 PM

Dude, it's just his hair and moustache make him look hilarious. LMAO

Bowser

10-25-2011, 03:09 PM

You do realize that's Sam Elliot. One of the few younger pictures I could find of him without a hat.

Really? The best critique you can come up with is you don't like the character's name? And its Stuart, BTW.

The story would seem interesting, sure, but the name just seems lazy, for lack of a better term. Sorry. That would be like giving Newkirk a Vulcan first officer named Spa'ack, or something.

Bowser

10-25-2011, 03:10 PM

And thanks for saying that was Elliott. I couldn't place a face with the picture, even though I knew I should have (not enough grey hair there).

whoman69

10-25-2011, 03:29 PM

The story would seem interesting, sure, but the name just seems lazy, for lack of a better term. Sorry. That would be like giving Newkirk a Vulcan first officer named Spa'ack, or something.

Changes name of first officer from Spork.

Fish

10-25-2011, 03:36 PM

Changes name of first officer from Spork.

LMAO....

whoman69

10-25-2011, 04:41 PM

This was going to be a tough nut to crack. Ever since the area had been explored, the Triangle region had been a rough and tumble area. The independents of the area were pushed into a smaller and smaller buffer zone between the three major powers. Those independent governments had become very adept at playing those powers off of each other to keep the status quo. With the Klingons moving in with heavy force that status quo would be put to the test. James wondered what had precipitated the move. Had the Klingons been thwarted on another front? Another thing to keep in mind was that the area fell outside the jurisdiction of both the Organian Peace Treaty and the Romulan Neutral Zone. Ships that weren't careful had a tendency to end up as space debris.

Even though he hadn't accepted the assignment, James saw no reason he couldn't get the process started to getting the ship manned. James was confused when he walked into the personnel office of Starbase 15. There were dozens of people seated, filling out forms. He had never seen such a backlog. There was a single young ensign behind a desk that was talking to another officer that seemed very exasperated. He walked up to the desk and waited his turn.

"I'm sorry, you will need to fully fill out your SF-609 for me to look up that information," the young ensign said as she handed an electronic notebook back to the dejected officer.

Newkirk moved forward, "Hi, I'm Captain Newkirk and I need..."

"You'll need to fill out this SF-609 request for me to assist you," the ensign interrupted.

"I haven't even told you what I need," the captain responded.

"And I didn't ask," the ensign replied. "I am a very busy person. The staff has been let off due to an Andorian celebration on the base. I need the pre-requisite forms filled out for me to pass along the information. If I had to input all the data for each request I would never get anything done."

"Listen, I'm a starship captain. I need to check on my ship so that it will be ready for launch. I don't have time to fill out personnel requests. Can you just tell me who my personnel officer is so they can get me personnel records and duty rosters?"

"I'll be happy to grant your request once I receive the pre-requisite forms," the ensign stated as he pushed an electronic notebook towards Newkirk. Newkirk took the notepad and reluctantly looked for a place to sit. He filled out the forms for the next half hour or so, or so it seemed. During that time Newkirk did not see anyone that actually had been helped. Some had left out of frustration.

Newkirk went to the counter. He arrived just as someone had made yet another unsuccessful attempt to get helped.

"No there's something wrong here. I don't know how to do these forms because I've never even seen one before. I can't believe all these people who deal with personnel issues on a daily occurence are incompetent as you are putting forth. Despite you not having helped one person yet, you are working away on your workstation..." He reached out and spun the station around. Puzzles, this guy had kept all these people waiting while he was doing puzzles. It took all his reserves for Newkirk not to just reach over and start choking the guy.

"Where is your superior," Newkirk asked.

"He has taken the day off," the ensign said very quietly. "I was put in charge today."

"I don't see that happening again for some time to come. Since your superior is not available then we'll just move up the chain to the base commander. I don't think your boss would appreciate hearing just what a worthless officer you are from the commander of the station. You will start helping everyone in here starting now. Show me my personnel officer."

The ensign turned the workstation back towards him. "Yes sir. Ensign Dunsel has been assigned to you."

Newkirk swung the station back. He had met this person. Where was it. Yes, his last visit to the academy. Dunsel had been a cadet whom he was introduced to. "How long have you been in Starfleet, Ensign?"

"I graduated from the academy three weeks ago," the ensign answered.

"You might want to get your resume updated."

listopencil

10-26-2011, 12:12 AM

You do realize that's Sam Elliot. One of the few younger pictures I could find of him without a hat.

Really? The best critique you can come up with is you don't like the character's name? And its Stuart, BTW.

Yes. I literally could not get past the name. I read the name, looked at the picture and lost the will to continue.

pr_capone

10-26-2011, 12:54 AM

Yes. I literally could not get past the name. I read the name, looked at the picture and lost the will to continue.

ROFL

AustinChief

10-26-2011, 01:18 AM

You do realize that's Sam Elliot. One of the few younger pictures I could find of him without a hat.

Really? The best critique you can come up with is you don't like the character's name? And its Stuart, BTW.

Are you writing this just to write or is this going to get published in some media?

NewChief

10-26-2011, 10:27 AM

Everyone knows if you want fanfic readers, you gotta go the slash route.

In other words: where's the Newkirk/Spork (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirk/Spock)?

whoman69

10-26-2011, 02:47 PM

And is the Beowulf your design?

I created the original design and it was done more professionally by an artist. I don't believe that artist has a website anymore that I can credit, but I'll check into that.

whoman69

10-26-2011, 02:51 PM

Are you writing this just to write or is this going to get published in some media?

Just to write at this point. I have used it in the past as a sim with other writers, but they tend to take the action in unexected directions at times. This is my first effort to put together all the roles on the ship and control the action myself. The Beowulf goes back more than 25 years to rpg days with the old Star Trek the role playing game.

whoman69

10-27-2011, 04:05 PM

Borm hated moving. That was probably not a good attitude for a Starfleet officer who was expected to move on to the next assignment at a moment's notice. It was probably time to move on. His roomate on his last ship was becoming increasingly confrontational about Borm's inability to keep their quarters neat. On this ship as the Chief Engineer he should have quarters for himself.

All of the Tellarite's belongings were in a hastily packed dufflebag. As he entered the airlock he was being watched over by an Andorian security officer. Andorians and Tellarites had a long history of distrust which Borm had not been a part of. He grew up on a small colony which was populated by Tellarites and Humans. The Bendegan Colony did not have much commerce offplanet, so he did not grow up with the usual prejudices. From the looks he was receiving, the Andorian did not have such an upbringing.

Borm thought the Andorian needed a good argument, but he wanted to get to the engine room and see what he was working with. Besides, he hadn't eaten in nearly an hour and a half. The Tellarite entered the nearest turbolift and directed it to the senior crew quarters. There was a crewman just outside the lift who was directing people to their quarters. He took just enough time to toss his bag on the ground and check his computer station for the location of the nearest gally. He stayed in the mess long enough to quickly down a light 900 calorie snack and made his way to engineering.

With the Beowulf being made ready, the engineering room was alive with activity. Borm took in the sight. This was all his. He noticed an female human ensign giving orders to the others and made his way over to her.

"I'm Lt. Borm..." Borm said.

The young lady cut him off. "Ensign Wright, we've been expecting you, Chief." She took a step towards the vertical stabilizers, "Watch that flow regulator," she said to a crewman at that post. "Sorry about that, sir. Anything particular you want me to work on?"

"No, you just keep doing what you're doing."

"And what will you be doing?" Ensign Wright asked.

"I'll keep doing what I'm doing as well," Borm said with a smile.

Borm looked around his domain. He walked around to various stations with his hands behind his back saying nothing to anyone, just observing. Finally he found what he was looking for, someone who didn't seem to be working towards any purpose, someone who looked over their head, lost.

"What's your name crewman?" Borm asked the young man. It looked as though this young man hadn't even started shaving as human males do.

"Crewman Donnelly, sir," the crewman said with just a tinge of nervousness in his voice.

"Donnelly, what do you know about inertial dampeners?"

"I know what they do," Donnelly said with a slight stammer. "Sir I just finished my ai training."

"Excellent, then this will be a learning experience," Borm noted. "Essentially everything done on a starship is a matter of following a set procedures. If you learn how to do one thing, you can move on easily to the next.

Borm took the young crewman down the Jefferies tube and they worked on several systems from the inertial dampeners to the plasma conduits, even the circuits for the food processing units. They emerged from the Jefferies tube satisfied they had put in a full day.

Borm didn't see Ensign Wright when he arrived back in main engineering. He hit the nearest comm panel and put in a request to speak with her.

"Wright here," his assistant responded.

"Where are you at?" Borm asked.

"I'm in the officer's lounge," she stated. "Anything I can help you with?"

Borm looked on the timestamp. He had stayed two hours past his shift. He didn't mind the extra work, but he'd have to make it up to the boy.

"Donnelly, let's go get some dinner," he said to the young man. "Have you thought about becoming the Engineer's mate?"

Great Expectations

10-28-2011, 07:53 AM

http://www.48hrbooks.com/

whoman69

10-28-2011, 02:11 PM

http://www.48hrbooks.com/

Star Trek is trademarked. No way I could publish.

Huffmeister

10-28-2011, 02:13 PM

Star Trek is trademarked. No way I could publish.

Just change the title to Star Newtrek.

whoman69

10-28-2011, 03:16 PM

Just change the title to Star Newtrek.

Then people might think it has to do with the Nu Trek by JJ Abrahms.

Great Expectations

10-28-2011, 03:40 PM

You could change it to Star Track.

whoman69

11-10-2011, 08:37 PM

Estrella Lopez-Solano could hardly believe that she had been named first officer of the Beowulf. Sure it was a small destroyer, but normally one would have to be a Lieutenant Commander to pull that slot, especially when the commanding officer had captain's rank. Truth be known, if she had learned to keep her mouth shut in certain circumstances she would probably already be a Lieutenant Commander.

The Beowulf would be her third posting after the science vessel USS Drake and another destroyer USS Griffon. She had worked her way up the food chain from 3rd shift navigator to Chief Navigation Officer and now Exec. She chose the navigation field because they, along with helmsman, were the most likely to become starship commanders with their background in tactical issues. Navigation also had the advantage that those officers were often cross-trained at the other bridge stations to act as a backup. It had been seven years since she graduated from the academy after spending her whole life up to that point in South America.

Lopez went to her quarters, tossed her duffel on the floor and made her way to the captain's quarters to check in with him. On most starships the XO and captain stayed on opposite sides of the ship so that a single hit couldn't take them both out. In theory it was probably a good idea, but it was damned inconvenient.

Before ringing the door chime she noticed music coming from the room. Estrella had no background in music and did not know what instrument was playing nor did she recognize the song which was 'Begin the Beguine'. She did feel the latin rhythm. Lopez pressed the door chime, the music stopped. "Come," she heard from the other side of the door.

Captain Newkirk put his clarinet on his desk and turned to view his XO as she presented herself before him.

"Lt. Estrella Lopez," she said from the position of attention. "I've been assigned as your Executive Officer."

Newkirk regarded her for a moment. "At ease. I haven't yet officially accepted the command of this vessel."

Lopez was taken aback by the statement. She had not heard about any uncertainty about the ship. "If you don't mind asking, what is holding you back?"

Newkirk stood up. She was fairly short, only coming up to the bottom of his armpits. "You're pretty bold aren't you. At least I can trust you'll tell me what's on your mind. This should be just between me and Commodore Bentley, but I guess you deserve an explanation. I've served in Star Fleet for more than 30 years now. During that entire time I've been assigned to military ops. I'm tired of staring down the enemy over the border. I've put in my time as soldier. I think I deserve a shot to get out and explore."

"You don't see the mission of the Beowulf as important, sir?"

"You won't get me to say that. The Klingons have tried to tip the balance of power in No Man's Land. The stakes have been raised. Star Fleet will need eyes and ears out there to make sure little flare ups don't turn into big ones. If I decide to take this job, you'll have no worries about me being committed to this ship."

"I'm guessing that in the time you've served, that you have been to dozens or maybe hundreds of worlds. How many people can say that? You may not have been the first one there, but you can't say you haven't had the chance to experience other cultures."

"I'll be meeting with the Commodore in the morning," Newkirk said. "You've been pretty convincing."

"I'll let you get back to your music," Lopez said. "You play very well. I myself don't have any musical talent at all." With that she excused herself to go about her duties.

whoman69

11-12-2011, 03:18 PM

After an eventful first few days on the Beowulf Captain Newkirk was glad to get a chance finally to relax. Just one last thing to do before playing his clarinet, and that was to clear out his correspondence. Most of it was routine paperwork which he didn't care about but had to verify that it was read. There was also a message from Commodore Bentley.

{Meet me in the Loknar Cafe at 2300.}

That only gave him 30 minutes. He put his uniform back on, grabbed a quick snack and cleaned up a bit.

Newkirk was beamed down to the station's main transporter room. He stepped off the pad and ran out to catch an open turbolift. James knew from his past with Bentley that the Commodore was a workaholic, though what he ever got done nobody knew. He ran from the turbolift to the cafe entrance and gave himself a moment before composing himself before entering. Bentley already had his coffee, which meant that he had been waiting.

Newkirk tried to pass it off, "Why the hell you got me meeting you here at this hour?"

Bentley put the cup down he had just sipped out of. "Its nice to see you too, Sunshine."

Newkirk didn't want anything to keep him awake so when the waiter came up he ordered a tranya. "Why do I get the feeling that you had a big hand in the personnel offerings. I have a Chief Engineer who was cited three times for blowing up his own quarters. He should get along real well with the Andorian Chief of Security. I have ensigns heading up helm, navigation and communications plus an LT for an Exec."

"Don't look at me," Bentley said with surprise. "I'm as pure as the driven snow."

"I think that some of that snow is yellow," said with a knowing smile. "Let's not forget the fact that some of this crew is still in diapers. I didn't volunteer to be a baby sitter."

"Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees," Bentley accused. "Yeah, some of them are raw but good crews just don't jump out of a nebula. You have the makings of one of the best crews in the fleet. That engineer knows how to think outside the box. You just need to make sure he doesn't get bored with the mundane aspects of the job. Your security chief was one of the top students at the Weytahn Military Academy. And that little XO you have was being considered as a hand to hand instructor at the Academy. Nobody else can put things together like you. Now if you're done crying in your beer, have you thought about the offer I made to you?"

Bentley had certainly given Newkirk something to think over. There was the captain's sense of duty. Aside from that, if the Klingons or anyone else were to gain the upper hand in No Man's Land, it could tip the balance of power. Bentley never believed for a moment that Newkirk would turn down the assignement. He knew his former XO too well.

"I guess I'm too old to start as a freighter captain on the Argelian run," Newkirk said with his famous grin easing in. "Besides, you'll need somebody out there when the fecal matter strikes the oscillating cooling device. You better be able to deliver on that exploration command. What say we find a place with some beer."

"And maybe round up a couple of fillies to put the spurs to," Bentley said.

Detoxing

11-12-2011, 03:26 PM

weirdest thread on CP, no doubt about it.

CHENZ A!

11-13-2011, 03:56 PM

You could change it to Star Track.

Won't work either.. People will associate with Skateboard P.

whoman69

11-15-2011, 06:15 PM

Another long night had passed but now the time had come for the Beowulf to launch. Starfleet was always about pomp and ceremony in such circumstances. James Newkirk cared little for the dog and pony show. Though he had never been to a launch, he had been to enough change of command ceremonies to know they were boring and, in his opinion, meant little in the long run to the comradeship and cohesion of his ship. It didn't help that dress uniforms always made him feel as if he were wearing a dress. It had been forever since he had worn his dress shoes and they probably could have used a new coat of polish. James wondered why he didn't break down and get some shoes that didn't need polishing. No remedy for it now. He took out a cloth and rubbed them down as best he could. Were his feet getting bigger?

He looked at the ship's chronometer on his wall. Damn, he only had a few minutes. He ran left his quarters and ran to the nearest turbolift just barely avoiding collision. Good thing the turbolifts came out near the main transporter room. He stepped through as the doors swished open.

Commodore Bentley was waiting for him. “Oh shit,” Newkirk thought.

“You look like crap. Can't you take any pride in your uniform?” Bentley asked him with a touch of acid in his tone.

“Unlike some I don't have a latest conquest to take it to the quartermaster and have it pressed and polished,” Newkirk pointed out. “Besides I feel like Mae West in one of these things.”

“And you always wait until the last minute to get ready. I wanted to get in on some of that free champagne,” the commodore said.

“Talking to half drunk field officers while I have to stay sober is hardly my idea of a good time,” the captain replied. “Anyways I have it on good authority they can't start these things without the captain.”

Bentley couldn't believe this guy had been his second in command all those years ago. “Just step on the pad spoilsport.”

The bay overlooking the spacedock had its own transporter pads. There were a few minutes of congratulations passed around and introductions given. Nobody seemed the wiser that only a few minutes remained before the ceremony was supposed to start. Bentley did not totally miss out on the drinking activities. At the appointed time a senior NCO sounded a replica of a nautical bell and asked everyone to take their places. Cameras were turned on to pipe the ceremony to the station and the Beowulf. Welcomes and introductions to the dignitaries present including Bentley, the Andorian civilian in charge of the Salazaar Shipyards, and Commodore Bonita Rodriguez who was in command of Starbase 15.

Commodore Rodriguez was asked to say a few words to convey the moment. She briefly talked about the solemn duty of a Starfleet crew to protect the Federation and spoke of the sacrifices those crew must make in both their personal lives and potentially making the ultimate sacrifice. She then read a passage from the original Beowulf that seemed to speak of the moment.

“For fifty winters I've ruled this realm and never a lord of a neighboring land dared strike with terror or seek with sword...In my life I abode by the lot assigned, kept well what was mine, courted no quarrels, swore no false oaths. I can take joy in all these things.”

With that Newkirk was asked to pressed a button which would send a bottle of 2245 Dom Perignon against the hull to christen it. A camera had been set up to see the satisfying splash of the bottle against the words USS Beowulf printed on the warp nacelles. Rodriguez handed the captain the dedication plaque for his new ship. Newkirk smiled and accepted congratulations from those present.

“That was short,” Bentley said to him. “We've got time to have some drinks.”

“You know I can't drink right now,” Newkirk noted. “Come on. You can come with me or miss seeing us off.”

One of the biggest thrills for those present at a launch was to watch these behemoth ships inch forward and make their way out into space.

Captain Newkirk had beamed aboard the Beowulf with Commodore Bentley at his side. They entered the turbolift and made their way to the bridge. As they entered the bridge Newkirk stood at attention with the dedication plaque cradled in one arm. There were some faces on the bridge the captain hadn't met yet. The helmsman was a Caitian male named Ens. Prev'mal, a human female at the nav station Ens. Remington. The XO was at the science station while Ens. Dunsel manned the communications station. Lt. JG Thelev was beside the door to the turbolift. He assumed that Lt. JG Borm was in engineering for the launch.

"Attention!" the captain called out. "Activate viewscreen."

He handed the plaque to his former commander. "Commodore will you do the honors?"

Bentley hung it from the post near the doors to the rear of the bridge. "I hereby declare this vessel ready for its journey."

The crew clapped. "At ease everyone," the captain said and started clapping. "Mr. Prev'mal, what do you say we get her on her way?"

"I would be happy to, sir. Maneuvering thrusters are standing by." The helmsman took his station and prepared for the Launch.

"Release docking clamps, thrusters to station keeping," the captain said as he moved to sit down in the command chair. Once he heard the clamps give way he said, "Signal the dock we are ready to depart. Engage signal lights. Once the doors are opened you may proceed at one quarter impulse Mr. Prev'mal."

As the clamps disengaged, the helmsman activated the exterior signal lights. The Communication's Officer said that the Dock was giving them the all clear and so the ship inched forward, thrusters only. The doors began to open and Aeron waited to engage impulse.

The warning lights at the bay doors went dark indicating that the doors were now fully opened. "Take her out, helm." Newkirk watched at the ship moved smoothly towards the opening. When the ship was about three quarter way to the doors the lights came back on again. Why the hell were they closing?

The captain saw that the only way to stop short would be emergency breaking which would send any worker pods into the hull, probably killing anyone inside. "Keep going! Roll to port." Newkirk hoped that they would have more room going through sideways

The doors were getting close now, there wasn't much time to react. He couldn't tell yet if they would make it. The Caitian calming manipulated his console, sending the ship into a roll. Rolling the ship on its side, with the saucer section now parallel with the starbase's doors. He wanted so much to speed up but to do so might damage the docking bay or it could send them crashing into the door as their trajectory changed. The doors kept inching ever closer with the saucer section easily clearing the doors. He switched the screen to rear view. The warp engines were moving through a narrowing gap. The whole ship began to vibrate as metal scraped against metal. Then at once it stopped. "I think we made it sir."

Prev'mal let out the breath he had unknowingly been holding. There was a chorus of relief from all around the Bridge.

Newkirk sensed they were still in danger. "Shields up!" the captain ordered. He looked over at the deflector array and saw the shields were activated. "Damage control reports from all stations. Get the base on the horn and find out..."

He never got the words out. A giant explosion rocked the station. Flames shot out from the door as a chunk of it flew off. Had they tried to brake while still in the dock, the ship would have been destroyed.

Fires are raging through many decks on Starbase 15. With no power to some sections there are some breaches open to space with no forcefields in place. The biggest danger was out of control fires getting to the power core of the station. There are escape pods on the station, but those only hold enough air for a limited time. The ships present have nowhere near the capacity to save even a fraction of the people present. We are also getting assistance from the USS Arkadelphia, a Loknar Class Frigate, and USS Set Val, an Andor Class Cruiser. Both ships have a limited crew and quarters as they are purely military in nature. Commodore Bentley has taken over coordinating efforts between the ships. I have beamed some fire control teams over to the base with the goal of carving out an area that will be safe to transport survivors from. Currently forcefield and bulkheads are making that process difficult. Normally I would be using the shuttles to retrieve bodies blown out into space, but the shuttle may be needed to ferry people down to Salazaar if our transporters become overtaxed. The needs of the living win out.
End of log entry

Captain Newkirk turned the monitor on the table back to its normal position just as Lt. Lopez entered the briefing room. The diminutive XO had some discs in her hand and an electronic notebook with her. She placed a disc into the console and activated the monitor.

"Sensors and visual tapes indicate the explosion started in the docking bay," the XO said as she brought up a recording made of the detonation. "It looks like it was chemical in nature. We don't have enough information to determine what kind of chemicals were used at this point."

"So it was probably a bomb," Newkirk said.

"I don't see any other option," Lopez admitted.

"Double security patrols on the ship," the captain ordered. "There may still be saboteurs looking for a target. How are the rescue operations going?"

Lt. Lopez brought up a schematic of the station. "We were able to beam crews to this area," she said as she pointed to the screen. Several red points which represented fires, and white points which represented forcefields showed up over different areas. Some were overlapping. "As you can see the fires are extensive. Our teams have been reminded about standard procedures for opening up new areas to prevent backdrafts. We have medical teams on standby to beam down."

"Have them set up a safe triage area," Newkirk said. "We don't have enough staff to put them in danger. The fire control teams will need to bring the wounded back to the safe area. The critically injured will have priority for the transporters."

"Sir, I'm most concerned about the power core. I've run several simulations. I think we can predict when the core temperature is at critical and evacuate personnel before that point."

"What are the odds that we prevent that from happening?" the captain asked.

"Not good," Lopez admitted.

"We'll need to figure out some way to increase our chances."

whoman69

11-29-2011, 08:52 PM

Ensign Dunsel had to take a moment's rest. The protective suits they wore combined with the heat of the fires had him drenched in sweat. The heavy hoses they carried had exhausted his strength. As Chief of Communications his operations department was charged with coordinating damage control. That put him on the front lines in fighting this fire. Along with personnel from the base and the other ships in the area, they had quite a force. However the task before them was daunting. Many of the automatic fire suppression features were offline. His team had made their way from room to room checking for life signs along the way. Before they could enter any room they needed to be sure of the temperature on the other side of the door and make sure there was an atmosphere since so many force fields had failed. Oftentimes there was no power to open the doors so they had to manually force them open.

The explosion and resulting fires had also caused a lot of casualties. He had seen many dead that day, and saved more than a few people. He had seen people horribly burned, some beyond recognition. He had seen people whose lungs were scarred so badly their horse coughing made them wince with pain. All looked at him to save them. They were frightened and scared as he was.

The grand scale of the rescue operations were hampering their ability to control the fires. Soon the fires would begin to weaken the structure of the base or worse get to the power core. They were losing the fight. A better idea needed to be found quickly. A piece of the ceiling collapsed on the other side of the room. Break time was over. His team moved quickly to put out the blaze only to have to move on to the next room. Hopefully when they came back this way the fires wouldn't be restarted.

On the Beowulf Lt. Lopez was looking at the schematic of the base. The situation was becoming critical. Red hotspots dominated her readings. She overlaid those areas with places they still knew people to be trapped in. There will still thousands of people on the station despite the fact they had been running transporters for hours on end and sending people down to the planet with their few shuttlecraft. The sickbays on the ships and treatment areas were becoming overrun. The station could suffer a loss of life not seen since the days of the Five Years War against the Klingons 30 years ago. She was formulating a plan to put out the fires but she doubted the captain would like it.

Captain Newkirk had seen his share of fires in his day. 30 years aboard combat ships meant he was accustomed to putting out fires aboard his ship. The scale of this explosion was beyond anything he had experienced. They were looking at possibly losing the whole station to the fire. It would be his order when to abandon the fight, his order that would bring about the death of thousands. Some of those would be his own crew still down there combating the fire. They needed to even the odds.

"Captain, the core temperature is reaching critical," Lopez reported from the science station. "At this rate we won't have much time."

"Prepare to recall all teams from the station," the captain ordered.

"I have something I'd like to try first," the exec stated as she pointed to the schematic showing from her console. "I'd like to use the ships phasers in these areas to put out the fires. If we pinpoint blasts to these areas we can let the vacuum of space do our job for us. Since we still have power in those sections the forcefields can be brought up to avoid explosive decompression."

Newkirk looked at the schematic again. The fires were going to overwhelm the supression teams in short order. He always believed that some chance was better than no chance. Who could have believed that a Federation starship would fire at one of its own bases in order to save it.

"Send these targets to the other ships," Newkirk said. "I want the console command for the station and bring shield control to our nav station."

whoman69

12-03-2011, 10:15 AM

The Beowulf, Arkadelphia and Set val were spread around Starbase 15 approximately 120 degrees apart when viewed from the station. At this distance if the station blew she would probably take out the Beowulf and the other ships there. It couldn't be helped. They needed precision fire to finish the task.

"Link established," Ensign Reminton announced. The link being a tie-in to the bases computers so they could control features force fields and the structural integrity fields.

"Signal other ships to lock on to their primary targets, three second burst. Fire on my mark," the captain ordered. "Set viewscreen to maximum magnification on target area. Make this count Mr. Prev'mal."

The Caitian helmsman nodded that he was ready.

"Fire," Newkirk said.

Phaser fire lanced out from the three ships striking the fire torn station. It wasn't often that the ships weapons were used to save lives. Debris shot out from holes created. Remington was monitoring the pressure levels. If he waited too long there was danger of explosive decompression.

"Move on to next targets," Captain Newkirk said. He waited for the signal that all was ready. "Fire."

Twice more they fired at the station with no appreciable effect. They were putting out the fires in the sections they were targeting, but it wasn't enough to bring the power core out of danger. The captain had a decision to make. Would they pull as many people out as they could and escape or would they continue to try to fight the fires putting the three ships in danger along with those on the station? For the captain it was no real decision. They had given an oath to protect the citizens of the Federation. He would do everything he could to save them.

"Move on to next targets," the captain ordered. "Have the fire control teams try to move in closer to the core."

He had committed them. There would be no way to pull those people out if the situation deteriorated. They were all in. The three ships would share the fate of the station if all was lost.

The Federation ships fired again at the starbase. Debris flew before the forcefields were put in place. Captain Newkirk looked over to the science station.

"Core temperatures have dropped incrementally," Lt. Lopez reported with a smile on her face. "I think we've turned the corner."

"Alright let's continue to cycle through our targets and put these fires out," the captain said. "I want to resume rescue operations when possible and move inspection teams in. We're going to find out who was responsible for all this."

MoreLemonPledge

12-03-2011, 11:38 AM

Weird. I've been thinking about publishing my book, Tails of the Newwulf.

L.A. Chieffan

12-03-2011, 11:58 AM

wow, is there anything more pathetic than a startrek super geek?

oh wait, yes there is, a startrek supergeek that writes imaginary startrek stories in his head just because...HAHAHAAAA LMAOLMAO

whoman69

12-03-2011, 01:26 PM

wow, is there anything more pathetic than a startrek super geek?

oh wait, yes there is, a startrek supergeek that writes imaginary startrek stories in his head just because...HAHAHAAAA LMAOLMAO

I would suppose the idiot that went through and read it all and then felt all superior for commenting on it. That's not pathetic, its just sad.

MoreLemonPledge

12-04-2011, 12:08 AM

Honestly, it's not my thing, but more power to you. Any person that can come into a (semi) public forum and bare themselves like this deserves respect. Not a lot of people would do it. Keep it up, whoman.

whoman69

12-09-2011, 07:56 PM

With a final push the crews were able to put the fires out on Starbase 15. They could now concentrate on rescue operations and investigation. Lt. Thelev was put in charge of the investigation. Truth be known he had wanted that job. Many of the people killed on the station were fellow Andorians since Starbase 15 had been constructed above the Andorian colony world of Salazaar. That body count was more than 4000 with many more injured.

Andorians were a very protective species. Since joining the Federation they had contributed a long line of starships designed for protection form the Loknar Class Fast Response Frigate to the newer Andor Class Missile Cruiser. Thelev vowed those responsible for this disaster would be made to pay.

Thelev touched throat area of his space suit to do a final communications check before he entered what had been ground zero, the launching bay. It had taken some time to force the bulkheads open. As he expected the command center was in vacuum and the artificial gravity field was offline. He activated the magnetic boots and started scanning. The area was covered in a layer of soot. The windows had been blown out by the blast. If those inside weren't killed by the initial explosion, they died having been sucked out into the airless bay. Pieces of the window and worker bee pods which had been tossed around like toys floated in the silent bay. There were also bodies amongst the debris. He stepped over the window and started walking down the wall. With no gravity there was no real up or down. The black soot he had kicked up on the way down contrasted with the white suit. When he reached the bottom of the bay Thelev took out his tricorder.

He saw a body floating above. As he shown his light on the body, the rank insignia reflect back. At least he knew what happened to Commodore Rodriguez now. The rank insignia was probably her only recognizable feature. Thelev scanned around with his light and looked back to his tricorder for readings. One of the pods ahead was just a warped floor and part of its walls curled back. He was reading the residue from a variety of chemicals which he stored for analysis by the science department. He lifted up the remains of the craft even though in gravity it would have weighed hundreds of pounds. He was looking for anything which could identify the pod. He wiped soot away from where the hull numbers would have been and stored them in his tricorder.

He had everything he needed here. Almost everything. He turned his magnetic boots off and jumped towards the Commodore's body. After he snagged the body, Thelev used his thusters to take him back to the floor and reactivated his boots. He'd call for a recovery team to bring back the rest of the bodies when he returned to the Beowulf. Once he was back to an area safe from debris he called for a beamup and a medical team to take care of the Commodore's body. Now the real investigation would start.

whoman69

12-21-2011, 07:28 PM

Seated around the conference table was the senior staff of the Beowulf which included Captain Newkirk, the exec Lt. Lopez-Solano, Lt. JG Thelev from security, Lt. JG Borm from engineering and Ensign Dunsel who was the communications officer. They were studying the report which Thelev had placed before them. The investigation had been hampered by the lack of a science department for the Beowulf. Thelev had to find members of the base's science team to go over the data. That was quite a task considering only repair crews were allowed back on the station. Tracking them down and making sure he had the proper sciences covered had taken the better part of the day.

"The blast was centered out of this worker bee pod," Thelev stated as an image of the destroyed pod came up on the central monitor. "Chemical residue was found in the remains of the pod. Together those chemicals are normally stable when combined. However at high temperatures they become a rather powerful explosive. They used this chemical which heats up when exposed to room temperature. By setting a certain volume they could be certain of the timing of the detonation. The triggering mechanism can only be found within the Orion colonies."

"So the Orion syndicate blew up the station?" Newkirk asked.

"Unlikely," the security chief said. "They were probably hired to provide materials and perhaps other assistance. They would not directly want to antagonize the Federation."

"Do we know who had access to the pod?" the XO asked.

"The last known pilot of the pod was Nedep Pram, a Bolian warrent officer who is amongst those missing," Thelev responded. "I have also discovered programming input in the system that would close the bay doors. Whoever did this timed it with the explosion to maximize the damage. It will take some time to track down whoever input those commands but my guess is like Mr. Pram, they will be amongst the missing. It looks as though they wanted to time this with the launch of the Beowulf. Only the fact that the ceremony ran short saved us."

"It looks like this may be a conspiracy involving Starfleet officers," Borm said.

"Until further proof is uncovered, we can't rule that out," Thelev stated. "There is more. There was an unauthorized use of the transporters just before the explosion. Someone was beamed to where we have no registered ships. I checked the sensor logs of the area just before the explosion."

On the central screen was an image of the starfield outside the station. Thelev pointed to a distortion in the upper right quadrant.

"Judging from the size of the distortion, a very small ship," Thelev noted. "The Romulans do sometimes sell small cloaking devices to wealthy interests. Those devices are protected against scanning and built to self-destruct if someone attempts to tamper with them."

"This is some good work Lieutenant. Continue your investigation though I imagine your suspects are light years away by now," the captain said as he adjourned the meeting.

whoman69

12-24-2011, 06:39 PM

Onscreen a man wearing a grey cloak was sitting on a stool. A light was shining from above and behind him casting his face in shadow. His race could not be discerned from the picture while his voice was disguised by a synthesiser. The picture was grainy and marred by interference.

"We are Federation First. We take responsibility for the bombing on Starbase 15. For too long the Federation has given ground to its enemies and put its citizens at risk. It is the manifest destiny of the Federation to rule the galaxy. It is time for Federation leaders to put aside the naive view that Starfleet should be an instrument of exploration and admit it is the military arm of our government. Its the only responsible way for us to protect our citizens. The council has allowed us to be hemmed in by several factions. They need to be brought to justice for their appeasement. We shall be their judge, jury and executioner. One day soon the Federation will be freed to grind its enemies to dust."

"I've been trying to track the signal," Ensign Dunsel said from the communications station. "I reached a dead end. They bounced it off a Romulan communications beacon which had to have been quite a trick. Since they are disguising his voice, I haven't been able to come up with any dialects or anything that might tell us where the face of the organization is from."

Lt. Thelev came up beside the captain with an electronic notebook in hand, "Federation First is a terrorist group who tried to start a war with the Romulans by stealing a Federation scout and attacking across the Neutral Zone. They have been pretty quiet of late but there has been propoganda traffic on the Federation net. They would seem to be recruiting."

Captain Newkirk sat silently with a scowl on his face. This had been a well developed operation. The terrorists set off the bomb with inside help and were able to get their people off the station and made a clean get away. First Federation was now very well organized and funded. They had even been able to entice Starfleet officers to their cause. The investigation was at a roadblock.

Only the fact that the ceremony had been short had saved his ship. "Sooner or later they will slip up. When they do I hope to be there. Send all the data we have to Starfleet Intelligence."

end part 1

whoman69

12-29-2011, 02:33 PM

The crew of the Beowulf was a small one, only 238. He knew going in it was going to be hard to try to form band, especially one with old instruments. He was going to need at least five woodwinds with a combination of different clarinets and sax, five brass consisting of trumpets and trombone, some form of rhythm section and of course a singer. A band of 17 was going to be a piece of work. There was even problem in getting officers from second shift a time to tryout, which accounted for the late hour. Some of those trying out obviously hadn't played in several years. One enterprising engineer had even built his own instrument. His talents lay more with engineering than music. Newkirk could work with someone a bit rusty. Lack of talent was something else entirely.

Space cruises, especially military cruises, tended to be long tedious affairs. Forming a band would give them some entertainment, a form of comraderie and something to do. In the middle of a promising saxaphone tryout the intercom rang for him.

Newkirk walked over to communication panel, "Newkirk here."

<Captain, we are receiving a distress call from a civilian freighter. Its an automated beacon coming from the Dorsum system.>

"I'll be right up," the captain said. As he shut off the communication grid he said, "Take a break everyone. I'll try to be back shortly."

Newkirk stopped by his quarters to change into his uniform and made his way to the bridge. Along the way he tried to remember anything he might know about the Dorsum system, but nothing came to mind.

Third shift had just started. The third shift bridge crew was a bit smaller than the first two shifts. There was a helmsman, navigator and a communications officer. There was no science officer or engineering officer assigned to the bridge. The night crew needed to be a bit more flexible in their abilities. Sensors were run from the helm or navigation station. If needed they could call down to engineering to have an officer come up. Captain Newkirk had used third shift as a training ground for officers who showed potential for promotion in order to get them more experience on their own. Right now Ensign Dunsel was the officer in charge.

Dunsel was moving back and forth between the science and communications stations when Newkirk stepped on the bridge. "Report," said the captain.

Dunsel swiveled his chair to face the captain, "No response in trying to contact the freighter. Ship's name is Logan's Star owned by a small trading company. In fact Logan's Star is the entire company. The Logan's Star is an older Lenexa Class freighter. The Dorsum system is uninhabited, and graded very low for colonization as the main planet falls below the Class M scale because of high radiation levels. Should be fine for short duration. The Logan's Star crew did not report why they diverted to Dorsum."

Newkirk's intuition told him that the crew of Logan's Star had gotten in trouble by doing things they were not supposed to be doing. "Continue long range scans. Set a course for the Dorsum system warp 5. What is our ETA?"

"17 hours sir," came the answer from the nav station.

"Schedule a meeting of the senior staff tomorrow at 1500," the captain said. "You have the bridge Mr. Dunsel." There was nothing for Newkirk to do now except get back to tryouts.

loochy

12-29-2011, 02:53 PM

The stories are real damnit! They are real to me! I dream of a future where people live in the stars! The Sisko knows these things!

Captain Newkirk came out of the briefing with few questions answered. Nobody could come up with a reason why the Logan's Star would visit this system. They were a trading company. There could be no trade in an uninhabited system. Initial robotic surveys had not found any minerals of value and the radiation meant agriculture was next to impossible, not that the company had the tools for such endeavors. Whatever they were doing there was suspicious at best.

When the captain reached the bridge the ship was ready to enter the Dorsum system. "Drop from warp, go to yellow alert status."

"Still no response to hails Captain," Dunsel reported.

"Triangulating the location of automatic beacon," Lt. Lopez-Solano said. "Got it. Its orbiting the third planet. Picking up on metallic debris nearby. Could be from a ship. No other ships on scan. Should we go to red alert?"

"Radiation is interfering with the signal. I may have something but not sure."

"Take a landing party down with a shuttle. I don't want to trust the transporters if there's interference. Make sure they see the doctor first for some anti-radiation shots. Desert uniforms, might protect you from that sun a little better," the captain said.

Lt. Lopez-Solano had brought Lt. Thelev and Borm with her along with some crew from the securtity department in case they ran into difficulty. The desert uniforms they wore were really no more than white cloaks that did a better job in protecting from the sun than the standard uniform.

When they set down and disembarked the white light took some time to get used to. They were about a quarter mile from the location where the sensors had picked up the life forms which were near some caves. As they made their way up the rocky hill they could soon see storage containers outside the caves.

A shot rang out which barely missed one of the security crew. The landing team dove for cover.

Before they could return fire a man came out of the cave with his arms over his head. "Hold yer fire boyo. Can't you see they be Starfleet." The man had an accent that sounded a bit Irish, only harsher. "Come on out boys. Let's show them we don't mean no harm."

Four other men came out of the cave with their arms up. The men were covered in dirt and there clothes were a bit ragged.

"Throw down your weapons," Thelev called out.

"Do as he says boys," the leader said. "I be Robert Logan. I apologize fer me crewmate. He's a bit easily spooked."

"Of what? This is an uninhabited planet," the security crewman who had been shot at responded.

"I told you there weren't any people on this god forsaken hellhole," one of the Logan's Star crew said accusingly to Logan. "We were shot at by Klingons and the only thing we found was these sparklin' rocks." The man then pulled a rock from out of his clothes and threw it on the ground.

"Shut your hole ya bilge rat," Logan spat. "You'll have us in irons."

"Klingons?" Lt. Lopez said. The plan was starting to come together. Why would a trading ship come to an ininhabited planet unless they expected to find people there. More than likely they expected to find a less advanced species that would trade valuable materials for useless trinket. The process was called chumping. It was illegal within the Federation. But if the Klingons were around then the Beowulf had more to worry about than arresting traders for illegal trade. "You better start talking now mister."

"Well yes. You see we was peeking around here a few days ago when the Klingons surprised us. We barely had time to beam down to the surface with a few rations. I don't suppose they spared me ship?"

Lopez then had an idea how to nab the chumpers and get back to the ship. "No we found debris," Lopez said. "You'll need to come up with us to the ship via shuttle. We'll have your cargo beamed aboard. Of course if they're perishable, we'll need to open them up for storage."

"No, that's quite alright," Logan responded. "They were just field rations anyways. Givin' me a bout of the gas."

"It would be no problem," Lopez said as she pulled out her communicator. "Beowulf, we have some cargo to beam up at this location. We will be returning to the ship shortly. Be warned there may be Klingons in the vicinity."

Lt. Thelev had picked up the rock that was discarded by the Logan's Star crewman and had scanned it. "You are probably not aware these 'sparkly rocks' you referred to are dilithium. That might explain why the Klingons would be interested in this planet."